Posts by sonja1980

Doesn't look like this group is very active anymore, but hope this finds all the new mommies and daddies doing well and enjoying their new little angels!

I gave birth to my son, Carlo Antony on June 26th at 9:18 am via c-section. It wasn't an emergency, but he wasn't coming the old-fashioned way and no amount of pitocin was helping after 30 hours of labor. When they opened me up they found that he was turned sideways so wouldn't have come down for all the drugs in the world. In any case, he was a healthy 7lb 6 oz and 21" long. He's now, at four months, 17lbs and 25.5" and a very happy little guy! He just started daycare this week and seems to do well so far.

Congrats again to all the new parents and best wishes for the holiday!

Kellabe - Congrats on the baby girl!!!! How exciting! How are you decorating the nursery? How's the registry process going? We did ours two weeks ago because we have 3 showers coming, one at the end of this month! Husband had SO much fun with the little scanner gun! LOL And he even snuck a Playstation video game on the registery... like he's actually going to GET it! Dork... LOL

Blackswan - I'm with you, the itchy skin is making me nuts! I have the worst dry skin on my hands and face these days!! And my back always starts itching at night, when I lay down to sleep!! It's awful! My MIL warned me not to scratch at my belly when it starts itching more because it will make the stretch marks worse. When do you find out the gender of your baby?

We confirmed at the beginning of February that we're on team BLUE! My family is beyond excited as this is the first boy on my side in 60 years! I'm 6 months now and starting to show, but I still don't feel like I'm very big at all! It's all in my belly, which I suppose is a good thing, but from behind, you'd never know I was pregnant! I agree, Kellabe, I want the big ol' belly so people KNOW I'm pregnant! LOL Of course, when we have that big ol' belly, we'll just be ready for baby to come OUT! ;) Teehee

My cravings aren't as bad anymore, though I cannot get enough ice cream and strawberries!! (I suppose there are worse ways to go, right?) OH and I finally broke down and bought some baby clothes!! I've been resisting for obviously reasons until we found out the gender, but also because I know you do get a lot at your shower... but I finally gave in...

Anyone else noticing a pattern to the kicking? My little jelly bean is usually active when I first wake, after I eat and right at bedtime. He has the timing of his father apparently... LOL *squeee* I love saying 'he'!

Hope you guys slow down at work a little! I've been busy too, just not as bad it sounds!

We're getting very excited for our little jelly bean here! Went and registered over the weekend - that was a task in itself!

I look like I swallowed a basketball, but am getting lots more movement and my husband finally felt his first kick Monday night. We laugh because it so feels like something out of the Exorcism or Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but it so sweet at the same time! I still occassionally think (like Musical_Fruit) 'Holy Cow! I'm pregnant!', but that's becoming less frequent the bigger I get...

Congrats again to all the new parents-to-be and again yvar... I am SO so sorry for your loss this third time! Hang in there and keep trying!

Been a few weeks since I posted here, I realized - and boy did I miss a lot! We moved over the last two weeks to a larger apartment unit in our building so finally have a second bedroom big enough for a nursery!!! They remodeled the whole unit so we have hardwood floors, granite counters and tile entryway. SOoooo nice! It'll be nicer once I can actually see that nice flooring though...

Welcome to all the new mommies (and daddies) to be! Let's see if I can catch up on some of the comments...

aosmundson - I'm only at 2,000 calories at the moment, but that is because I was already slightly overweight when I got pregnant and I also have a mostly sedetary job. I'm really trying not to gain too much and so far the doc says I'm doing fine!

MusicalFruit - I LOL'd at your username, too cute! :) I'm craving naughty stuff too, though I'm doing as much as I can to keep it to one small serving of the 'bad stuff' a day. Tortilla chips and ice cream are my weakness! (And SuperBowl weekend did NOT help this! ) By the way, dumplings and other Chinatown goodies sounds soooo yummy! What I read on the fish; shrimp, crab, salmon, tilapia, cod, sole and Mahi mahi are 'okay' as their mercury count is the lowest and as long as they are cooked. Swordfish is the no-no and tuna is iffy depending on the type. Of course all raw stuff is off the list - BOOOO!! I miss my sushi! (I found the loophole to that though - cooked rolls like shrimp and crab and tempura! Calorie count is higher, but darn it, I get sushi!) Personally I'm trying for at least 2 servings a week, but it's really hard because seafood still mostly turns me off and I love seafood! I force myself to make fish tacos once a week with either tilapia, cod or salmon.

Kellabee - For your back pain during long standing hours, are your shoes giving you enough support? If they're older shoes, you may be due for new ones and that should help some! (I was studying pediatry for a while...) Or perhaps an insole can help?

yvar - Yaay!!! Great to hear everything is going well still! I read in my pregnancy book that once you hear the heartbeat the risk of miscarriage drops to like 10% and drops to 2% after month three. So if you've heard the heartbeat as I'm sure you have, that's probably why your doc is casually hinting that you should get your classes scheduled! We booked our classes last December after we passed the 3-month mark. We've got the Lamaze class, infant care workshop (I am soo not comfortable with infants and really nervous about this!), and an infant CPR class.

By the way, we found out the gender last week!!!! We're having a BOY!! Hubby is sooo excited! We honestly would be happy either way as long as the baby is healthy, but a boy is big on my side since we haven't had one born in 60 years! It's fun to call the baby 'he' instead of 'it', though I still like my peanut and jelly bean nicknames! In the meantime... I still just feel fat! Don't know who made up that 'glowing' rumor, but I haven't seen it yet! LOL!

Welcome Lorraine and congratulations!! Is this the first baby for you?

yvar - Glad my 'book' didn't bother you too much! ;) Good for your wife (and for you!) for the healthy eating! Both my husband I struggle sometimes with it, but we're really really trying especially for the baby. I can sort of understand her on the eating all the time thing. I was like that my whole first tri - no appetite for anything, but knowing I had to eat! I never had the nausea or sickness, just wasn't hungry. I'm about 18 weeks now and noticing if I don't eat a little something every few hours, I get a headache or get sleepy. I think it has to do with the amount of work our bodies are going through to produce this surprising little bundle!

Isn't it so fascinating to read about the development of the baby?! We were shocked to read that, by the time I found out I was pregnant (11 weeks) our baby already had fingernails, eyelids, organs and bones! The picture on my profile is our 14 week photo and still amazes me that there's a facial profile already! We go on Feb 1 for another ultrasound and (I think) to find out the gender.

I read Jenny McCarthy's Belly Laughs book on a recommendation from a friend. A little vulgar at times, but SOOOO darn funny! (And after all, isn't laughter the best medicine?) Husband and I had fun laughing at the things we'll go through, even if it did make us a little nervous.

My condolences on your loss His_LBPO, and congratulations on the new pregnancy.

My wife and I have had 2 early miscarriages, and now pregnant again, just saw an ultrasound for the first time at 8 weeks, saw the heartbeat, so really felt like I met the baby seeing him/her, and seeing their heartbeat. My wife perked up a bit at that, although this time around I am the hopeful one, and she is holding back.

Made a big mistake last night, I was talking to my wife and I said that it is good that she is continuing to have pregnancy symptoms (nausea in this case), because if the symptoms stopped it would make us worry.

She told me in no uncertain terms that it is not good that she is sick. So I really said the wrong thing. I will have to try to remember to think more before I speak.

Also on the food topic (as we are on Calorie Count here), I am starting to realize I might not be able to keep cooking super low calorie meals, as my wife is going to need to be gaining weight, not losing. So I am really going to have to control my portion sizes instead, and maybe have to get all my calories at meals, and forego snacking more, so it's going to take some extra discipline, hopefully when I reach my goal weight, (currently 169 going for 162), and start maintanance it will create less conflict. Apparently with my wife at a healthy BMI, she will need to be gaining about 30lbs by the end of the pregnancy, mostly gained near the end, does that sound right?

Oops! Don't worry, my husband's made a few comments he shouldn't have (like telling me my behind was looking good and filling in... yeah, every girl wants to hear that! I know he meant it as a compliment, but I think I hissed at him a 'little' ...) I think we're more touchy in our first tri so hopefully she will relax a little when she hits the 2nd one. Hard to feel positive when you're hurling your guts, right?... ;) Don't worry, I'm sure she's pretty much over your comment by now!

Honestly, you don't have to modify the foods you are cooking too much if you both are already eating healthily. She's going to be gaining weight regardless as the placenta grows and fills and baby grows. The important thing is to make sure the nutrition is there. I read a great piece of advice in a magazine once about the old 'eating for two' mentality. You're not really eating for two because baby does not the same amount of calories as an adult. It said to think of it as eating for 1.2 instead. I thought that was great, logical advice!

We eat the same in my house as we did before I got pregnant, I just have smaller more frequent snacks as I'm feeling hungry throughout the day, usually 6-7 small meals versus 3-4 from before. I still cook low-fat, low calorie dinners so my husband doesn't gain with me, but I've been adding more veggies and making sure I serve something from each food group. For example, calcium and fiber are super important during pregnancy. Calcium for baby's developing bones, fiber to... um... attempt to keep things moving as they tend to stop up during pregnancy. If I make chicken and rice with a vegetable for dinner, I will make brown rice (for fiber) and have a glass of skim milk for my calcium. (Husband won't have the milk, though he's lactose intolerant anyway.) I keep wheat or multi-grain high-fiber bread on hand for a quick PB on toast snack between meals (though husband doesn't usually get one of these).

Granted I'm in the 2nd tri and your wife's nausea will probably make it difficult for her to eat lots of things right now. Just make sure she is eating some nutrient food and getting lots of water and make sure she's getting her prenatal vitamins daily!

And you are correct on the weight gain. I think I read that we are 'supposed' to gain 1 pounds per week in the first tri, 1-2 a week through the second tri and the majority will come around the 6-8th month. You guys are both very healthy it sounds so I'm sure having you to help her make good choices will really help the weight gain! One tip though... if she absolutely HAS to have ice cream or a handful of potato chips, or whatever massive craving she suddenly gets, don't make comments about it too much! (If she's sensitive about her weight gain, as I am... and many of us are... it will only offend her and/or depress her!) Have the option available or a healthier version of it, like frozen yogurt (remember the calcium!) instead of full-calorie ice cream or baked potato chips instead of the fatty kind. Those single-serving baggies of chips have helped me immensely of late! Its no different from when you're trying to loose weight really, but I'll tell you, I thought cravings were strong before pregnancy... omg... they are severe now!! And random! LOL

Gads...that was really a little long-winded answer there, sorry about that! Hopefully I sound helpful and not condescending... It's really great that you are looking out for her! I'm sure I'm not alone in wishing my husband was on here doing the same thing! ;)

Rachel - Woohoo!!! We find out Feb 1, when do you find out? By the way, I think I ate only pizza and peanut butter the whole first trimester (not together of course!)! Hubby doesn't help cuz his sympathy cravings are sometimes worse than mine! But we've been good this tri by limiting the 'not so good' stuff to once or twice a week max. Has your energy come back yet? I know mine was non-existent through the first tri!

Priceless7 - I'm with you! I go through excited spells and then I'm scared out of my mind! I always knew I'd be a mother one day, but I still can't believe it's happening - even as my belly expands! ;)

yvar - Wonderful to have a male perspective in this chat group. I agree with Kellabee, we sometimes forget there are two in this pregnancy! ;) Hope everything goes well this time and keep up the WONDERFUL help you are doing around the house! Speaking from personal experience, it helps in more ways than your wife will probably ever say! ;) By the way, if you want some good reading from the father's perspective, my husband checked out the book 'The Expectant Father' by Armin A. Brott from the library and he says he finds it very helpful as it's written from a guy's perspective in a realistic, honest way. Of course, it's my downfall, because now he knows more than me about this! LOL! Good luck in your pregnancy!

Hope everyone had a nice weekend! Mine was a 3-day due to the holiday yesterday and I spent it getting things packed to move to our new place!

Blackswan - I giggled when you said your husband was spilling the beans to everyone. Mine was too, its cute really, but difficult when you're trying to wait before announcing! ;) The acne is nuts, but I'm mostly getting it on my chest now, whereas the first trimester was my face. If it helps, my skin was super dry in the 1st and now seems to be settling down a bit. Hope that happens for you!

I'm starting to get a belly, but it really just looks like I'm fat or ate a big meal! Really annoying... Doc said last week that I'll suddenly just pop out and will definitely feel pregnant as soon as I feel the kicking. Supposedly I should be able to feel flutterings now, but I don't! Has anyone felt the flutterings???

So far I'm the opposite in terms of going to sleep... Used to be I'd go to bed and read for an hour or so, but now... I'm falling asleep on the couch and when I get in bed, I'm out instantly! Husband says he could play the drums in the room and I'd sleep right through it...

Besides the salty stuff, I keep craving things I hven't eaten in years, like the SweetTarts and Spree and Fritos! FRITOS!!!! I haven't eaten those things in probably 10 years! And I can't get enough ice cream and strawberries... which I guess aren't the worst I could crave, but still! Totally hear you though, TRW... I try to keep a pretty accurate journal, with the exception of weekends, but now that others are starting to see my journal... EEK!

Hope you get your workout in tomorrow!!! You can do it!! Tell you what... I'll go to the gym if you go to your class! Deal? ;)

Guess you've got a good reason to be out there with your workout buddy - since they don't know yet! ;) Amazing what we do to keep the secret, isn't it? But at least yours is a good reason!

Oh! Isn't the acne aweful!? I spent 6 years trying to get rid of it in jr high and high school and now I've got it back! AAH!

I got a little pamphlet about the weird preggo dreams from my Pre-Natal class introduction. I thought the dreams it described were a little nutso, but then I started having them! Even my husband is having them! (I pick on him that he's trying to steal my thunder on this pregnancy - LOL!)

I'm not having trouble sleeping, but I do have to get up 2-3 times a night to go to the bathroom! And I'm wide awake at 8am on the weekends regardless of the amount of sleep I've gotten!

TRW - Saw you found the calorie camp thing! I think it'll be a great tool as it's right there on your dashboard when you first log in so you don't have to go searching the forums. And I feel more accountable when others can see what I eat...

That's great you were able to loose the weight each time and WOW your girls were big when they were born! Whew... the thought of giving birth freaks me out so knowing you've done it twice (and with larger babies) and are back for a third round makes me feel slightly better! I intend to breastfeed so hopefully that'll help. I'm sure moving around will help too!

Yep, I stopped being able to button my pants around 11-12 weeks so it's not that abnormal for you I don't think. I bought one of those belly bands and it helped with most of my pants. I still have two or three I can wear with the band, but definitely can't button them! I'm 16 weeks now and I swear I just feel like I ate a big meal or have extreme gas! I'm still fatigued, occasionally falling asleep at my desk usually after lunch, but it's better than it was - at least we're not eating out every night... Other than feeling fat, I'm feeling better and the nausea has gone away almost completely. I will say this... I don't know who started that 'pregnant and glowing' BS, but I've yet to see it in me!! My hair falls flat, my face is breaking out and I get tired really easily...

BUT we go for my monthly appointment tomorrow!! Don't think an ultrasound is scheduled but just going there reminds me I am carrying a little life inside me and it makes all this worth it!

Kella, I totally cracked up when you said 80% healthy, 20% irrational pregnancy cravings! Thats sooooo true! I'm eating fairly healthily on the week days, but the weekends I think I drop to about 60/40... Partly because the husband has 'sympathy cravings' and wants junk food and take out all the time. Aaah!! I'm starting to get some of my motivation back so I'm able to cook most nights, but again, those weekends are a whole other story! And I crave tortilla and potato chips constantly!! Sweets, on the other hand, I dont' really have any desire for, except for SweetTarts for some danged reason!

TRW - I'm terrified I'm going to gain too much weight too! Good for you for dropping the weight you gained from both your girls! I"m sure you'll be able to do it again for this one! Can I ask you how long it took you to loose that weight? My mother gained 40 with me and another 40 with my sister and it took her 20 years to really loose it all. Really don't want that to happen to me!

Has anyone started growing out of their regular clothing yet? None of my dress pants for work fit me anymore... It's depressing!! I finally went out and bought a pair of maternity dress pants... what's the deal with the $50 pants though?!

NYE was quiet for us too, Kella. I did not even miss the champagne or wine. I like the smell, but have tried to taste a tiny drop and it makes me gag! And I love wine!! I was so tired I was asleep 20 minutes after the ball dropped...

Blackswan - GOOD for you for pushing yourself to keep working out!!! Are you totally drained of energy afterwards? I've found every time I work out, I have to go take an hour nap afterwards!

Sherie - So sorry you have so much morning sickness! Yuck! Hope you're drinking a lot of water to make up for the fluid loss! And hope it'll be over by the time you start the 2nd trimester... Hang in there, it IS totally worth it, isn't it!? *sqquuueeee*

On the keeping accountable to each other, if anyone is using that new calorie camp thing on here, we can 'support' each other and keep track of each other. I'm in if anyone else is! Anything to control my weight gain and workouts!

No 'getting sick' for me, though I did have a little nausea around the end of Oct and most of November.

What about cravings? Anyone got some weird ones yet?

Wow kellabee! That's great! Actually I asked my doctor about running because I was up to 3 miles on the treadmill or track 2-3 times a week until the end of October (I was already a month along!) He said light jogging/power walking is fine as long as you don't break into a heavy sweat because you'll loose those important fluids your baby needs in the placenta. The only thing he 'strongly discouraged' me on was skiing... BOOO!!!! (He didn't actually say no tho... and I did ski a couple runs last month, but could totally feel that I was 'off' somehow.) I have taught skiing at a local resort for the last 9 years and that's the only thing that's really been hard to let go of. But the snow will come back next year and I'll be raising a little ski bunny (or snowboard bunny if Daddy has anything to say about it) by then! :-)

As for workout routine... gads what routine?! I think I pretty much slept through November and I've found so far that I only have the energy for one or two things a day before I literally collapse on the couch. If I grocery shop or do some cooking or cleaning, thats about all I can do. I do walk for about 30-45 minutes at lunch so that's been helping and I'd love to find a prenatal yoga class!! Have you found you have any of that fatigue? What about after workouts?

Congrats Kellabee, Meg and dorkadorable!! Glad to have other mommies-to-be on there! (I'm still trying to get used to that phrase though... Mommy... eek!)

I hear you Kellabee, it's been SOOOO hard to keep the secret this long (been a month since we officially found out)! We finally broke down and told my sister and my SIL after Thanksgiving and they were so excited to be the first to know! I'll go 'Facebook official' sometime Sunday after both sets of parents find out and the word gets out to close family and friends. ;) BTW, love your gummy bear analogy - so true, though I said peanut when I did my first ultrasound!

Poor Meg! That fatigue thing is awful!! I think I spent most of November in bed... I'm past 14 weeks now and am just starting to get some energy back, though I found this weekend if I try to do too much (i.e. wrapping, shopping, baking, etc) I run out of steam fast and have to go take a long nap! Don't fight it, you need all that sleep!

Has anyone had the morning sickness?

Good luck to the mommies-to-be (eek... still not used to it...) and have a wonderful holiday!!

We waited until I started the fourth month to tell people... Our parents are finding out on Christmas day... Santa's leaving them a 'special' gift under the tree! ;)

Oooh. My SIL did this when she was pregnant with my nephew. There was a teeny-tiny gift for my husband and I and one for my MIL and FIL. We opened them at the same time and there was a pair of baby booties in each one. What a great idea, Sonja!

That's a cute idea with the baby booties! We went a little more subtle. I made two picture frames and decorated with Christmasy paper and flowers and put a copy of the last ultrasound showing the baby's profile in each - one for my parents, one for the inlaws. The idea was to make a frame that they can update each year with new grandkid Christmas pictures. Then we wrapped them in Macy's gift boxes to be opened last! I can't wait till Sunday!!!!

Bummer! But I still say that if you don't get your period by January and some of those nauseous feelings are still there, to try the test again. Though be sure to do it in the morning... apparently that's the best time for most accurate results!

Yep, that's the best upside to negative PTs... more nookie! (And then you get pregnant and all that nookie goes right out the window...*sigh* LOL) I'm hoping it comes back soon!

Just relax and have fun - good luck!

Man, the hubby and I were doing it like 3-4 times a day when I was pg with our son! I couldn't get enough. Now, its like three times a week, and I feel bad because I know he wants it more often.

LOL! Lucky! Out of curiousity, how far along were you? We're still early in the pg and we have the added disadvantage that my husband gets severe fatigue due to multiple meds he takes for his skin desease. I'm hoping things pick up a little bit here in the next couple months! ;)

Bummer! But I still say that if you don't get your period by January and some of those nauseous feelings are still there, to try the test again. Though be sure to do it in the morning... apparently that's the best time for most accurate results!

Yep, that's the best upside to negative PTs... more nookie! (And then you get pregnant and all that nookie goes right out the window...*sigh* LOL) I'm hoping it comes back soon!